Stories, Stand-Up and a New Way To Tickle The Funny Bone

“There’s always room for a story that can transport people to another place.” Author J.K. Rowling couldn’t have been more accurate. After all, her stories built a billion dollar empire for fans and has taken them to places of beautiful imagination for 21 years. To me story telling is the cornerstone of any art form. From a brush stroke on canvas to the perfect chord progression in a song. It gives voice to our experiences, ideas and emotions. Comedy has taught me that a performer who uses an authentic experience to take the audience through a narrative, always gets it right. From the self-effacing commentary of George Carlin to the self-deprecating observations of family life from Jim Gaffigan. From the off-center experiences of Sarah Silverman to the laughs and heartbreak in Hassan Minhaj’s tales of an immigrant life. There’s a time and place for comedy and stories take us to those places.

For Durban based comedian Carvin Goldstone, stories have been the foundation of his material that has helped him become one of South Africa’s most loved performers. 2018 saw him scoop two awards at the Savanna Comic’s Choice awards, including the coveted Comic of The Year award. He was also given recognition with the Flying Solo Award – an award given to a comic for their solo shows. Now he’s literally taking his fans to his experiences…on a bus!

“If you’ve watched iBruino or No Swearing. You’ll know a lot of my comedy is set in the “rolling hills” of Newlands East. I’ll take you the scenes where Aunty sister Eartha saved gangsters; he park I played in where they would scream “Carvin, you called”, school, church and we will end it with lunch at a spot and a show.” Goldstone said on Facebook.

The sold out event will bussed through the streets of Newlands East in Durban on Heritage Day, and to fellow comic Neil Green, it was more than a new way to perform stand-up and tell stories.

“Besides the comedy, this is a moment where Durban Coloured culture is recognised. This is the first step towards legitimacy for us. And if it seems to you that I’m overdoing it and it’s ‘just a comedy show’ show me where else Our Culture is being celebrated and presented positively? Well done, Carvin.”

Following the event being sold out, Goldstone plans to do another comedy bus tour in December.